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- S I R R O Y S T O N H O P K I N Hospitality comes naturally to Spice Island, because the concept of "fami- ly" is in the hotel's DNA. I came to find that, like many hotels in Grenada, Spice Island is family-owned and operat- ed. And one could hardly begin to tell its tale of success without mentioning its proprietor, Sir Royston Hopkin. In more ways than one, he is like a father to Spice Island, and his presence com- mands a sort of James Earl Jones level of respect. ough he had been involved in the '60s, Sir Royston became the sole owner of the beachfront property in 1987 and built it up from just 28 rooms. Over the years, he expanded to 64 and Spice Is- land became the first hotel in the region to have private pool suites. But for Sir Royston, a native Grenadian, family and hospitality are two things that have al- ways been innate. "When I was growing up, my parents had a successful 12-room hotel called Ross Point," Sir Royston told me over dinner one evening. "In our family, there were seven us of in a 600-square- foot house. My mother was one of the pioneers of what's known as Caribbe- an fusion. She was the chef and chief. People like myself don't go to school, so that's where I learned hospitality. I'm not the product of a hotel school. But to me, hospitality is not rocket science. It says what it is." is sentiment (along with Grenada's approachable culture) trickles down to every employee at Spice Island. During his journey in developing the resort, his clientele wasn't always what it is today. However, it's been this core principle that made Spice Island so special over the years. "I've traveled. I understand what's out there. I know what's required and what the expectations are. But you have to beat the expectations of what your clientele is at the time," he ex- plained. "My philosophy is very simple: if I've met your expectations, I've failed. I have to exceed your expectations. at's what leads to customer satisfac- tion. Most people meet expectations, but people will remember when you ex- ceed them." Sir Royston's life has been a life of service. At age 20, he was appointed to the Grenada Board of Tourism. At 24, he was elected president of the Grenada Hotel Association. And since 1970, he has served the on Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association board, an organi- zation which he later became the pres- ident of in 1996. During this time, he also developed a scholarship program, for which he currently has 100 kids at- tending secondary school. But these accolades were merely a small piece of Sir Royston's (and Spice Island's) jour- ney, albeit one that led to a knighthood bestowed upon him by Queen Elizabeth II in Buckingham Palace for services to tourism, an honor few hoteliers receive. V U E N J . C O M 118

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